stain glass hopes
by gunpowder perfume
Summary: parents centric -- therefore, by that dear name i have long called you, you who are more than mother unto me.


stain glass hopes  
parent-centric

_because i feel that in the heavens above  
the angels, whispering one to another,_

Careless laughter echoed through the streets of Twilight Town, the sounds of children playing Struggle filled the air with exasperated yells and worried shouts. "Be careful you two!" A brunette girl looked concerned, upset as three boys dueled with foam weapons. She was fully aware that they were harmless, but didn't prevent her heart from leaping in fright whenever two certain, shorter, blond boys fell each time the older one struck too hard.

The dark haired boy standing beside her was restless, taking snapshots of every moment the older boy lost balance and slipped onto the dusty ground. He experimented, tilting the camera sideways, moved around to capture the right lighting, squat down or stood on his toes to get the perfect angle.

Three blond boys dueled on the Sandlot, glad that the spring spell had finally gone and they could decide which group was the best, the Disciplinary Committee, or the Twilight Town Gang. Their disputes were never settled though, no matter who won or who lost at the particular time.

Almost as if to mirror the Twilight Town Gang, the other three members of the Disciplinary Committee stood nearby, also watching the Struggle match. Fuu, the girl with white hair and dark burgundy eyes that spoke only in short sentences had her arms crossed and vision focused on the fight.

Rai, an older boy with dark skin and hair, leaned onto the orange wall behind him, occasionally shouting words of encouragement to his leader, Seifer, snapping nasty remarks whenever the other two younger boys "got lucky" and knocked Seifer down to the ground.

The last, but not least member of the Committee was Vivi, well, he was more of an errand boy than a member. Vivi was a quiet, shy boy that followed the Committee around, doing what he was told. Some say he did it because he was scared, others say it was because he wanted to, but the real reason behind it was only known to one person, Vivi himself.

They are all eleven years old this year, spring break had just started and Twilight Town was again alive with business after another winter. The gentle breeze of spring had swept the snow away, leaving young, green grass sprouting out of the ground.

Roxas, one of the blond boy's fighting against Seifer, seemed to have trouble staying balanced long enough, always falling flat on his face attempting to do some damage. It was just one of those days you get that nothing ever goes the way you want it to. You do know what I mean, right?

Hayner, the other boy, seemed to be annoyed at how clumsy his friend was being today, yet still a tad concerned about how he was getting hurt quite a lot today. He had run into a pole just this morning, leaving a red bump on his forehead, and now, bruised and scratched from the Struggle match that had just ended.

The Disciplinary Committee had won this time. They laughed, and Seifer rubbed it into Hayner's face a few times before leaving the Sandlot.

A slightly bloody Roxas staggered up, laughing like the dork he was, before collapsing onto the dirt ground again, still laughing. The brunette girl leaned down to examine the many scratches and bloody wounds that had manifested themselves onto his body. "Roxas, I don't think your mom would be happy about this," she whispered quietly, grabbing her friend by the wrist and yanking him upright.

"Olette's right. You know how Auntie feels about you and Hayner's fights with Seifer's gang," The dark haired boy who took photographs, Pence, nodded in agreement. Olette had already glanced over Roxas's injuries, shaking her head slightly, and went over to look at the injuries Hayner received.

The blond boy waved his hand carelessly, while adding the phrase, "It's going to be okay." He brushed at his dusty, beige colored pants, and spoke up again, "It's getting dark, see you guys tomorrow I guess?"

Olette nodded, confirming that both boys did not have any serious injuries as far as the eye could see, and then smiled, "Yeah, it is getting dark. Come on Pence, let's go." The brunette smiled at her cousin, and they both waved goodbye to the blond boys before disappearing among the orange brick buildings.

Roxas also bid his friends goodbye, and hurried home. Hopefully in time before his mom came back from work, she would freak if she saw what he had done to himself. He stopped in front of a house with a cute little lawn that sat squished among the tall brick buildings. The blond boy drew a key from his pocket, inserted it into the gate's keyhole, and turned it slowly_ just incase_ his mom was home.

The gate creaked, Roxas held his breath, and let go of it as soon as he came to the conclusion that his mother was not home. Locking the gate, he tiptoed over to the door, unlocked it, and turned the knob. His heart skipped a few beats out of fear as the door squeaked, before it clicked softly, indicating that it was locked.

Roxas let two seconds slip by before letting go of his breath, half-heartily heading to the bathroom until–

"Where do you think you're going, mister?" a blond woman stood at the door leading to the kitchen, rapping her long, slender fingers on the doorframe. "Look at you! You are absolutely filthy! How many times have I told you about your games with Seifer and his little posse?" the woman, named Natsuko, shook her head disapprovingly, scanning poor Roxas.

"Look at you, all bloody and bruised. Go take a shower so I can clean you up…" Natsuko ushered her son, all the while her blue eyes slanted in a death-glare.

"But mom! I'm fine, just a bit bruised, but fine!" the blond boy protested while his mom piled clothes into his arms.

She tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and declared sharply, "Go take a shower and that's final." Roxas sighed, and stumbled into the bathroom with a bundle of clothes tucked under his arm.

Natsuko had spent the evening tending his scratches and a skinned knee, putting ice on his forehead which had a lump the size of an egg, all the while keeping the protesting to a minimum of flinches and moans of pain. A glaring match soon ensued, but ended as she reached to ruffle his hair. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

A smile came onto the cloaked figure's half-concealed face, some old memories flooding back into his mind. Memories of his childhood, of his own mother.

_can find among their burning tears of love,  
none so devotional as that of "mother"_

"Hey, Riku, don't do that!" a woman shouted, worried. Her eyes followed the six year old boy who was right in the middle of reaching out for a large crab with his bare hands. He tilted forwards to the tide pool, turquoise eyes wide with excitement as his fingers were just inches away from the orange crab.

The woman, not knowing what to do next, decided to get the boy out of the way. Instead of grabbing him as she should, she went straight ahead and retrieved the crab before him, deeming that a safe way to get her child out of harms way.

That was a stupid thing to do.

The crab snapped at the woman's hand, its pincers grabbing hold of her index finger. With a cry of pain, she attempted to shake the bright orange crab off. The six year old went and pulled on her dress, "Mom? Let me see," he murmured.

Holding out her hand with the crab still attached, Riku attempted to pry it off of his mother's finger, and once it let go, it dropped back onto the sand and scuttled away. Looking at her confused safe, the boy couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh. It was a wonder, really, who was actually the parent sometimes.

"Don't ever, ever do that again!" the woman scolded, sticking her hurt index finger into her mouth before holding out her free hand for Riku. The young boy instinctively reached for it and held on tight, looking ashamed as he stared at his feet.

The walked in silence, mother and son, down the beach. Regret for yelling at her six year old crept into the woman's heart. Now, the woman was Nanami, with pale blonde hair and sharp green eyes, also known to little Riku there as 'Mom'.

Humming a small, soft tune to break the silence, she walked ahead with the boy lagging behind her, hand clutched onto her tight. Shaking her head, she decided that she could apologize to him for yelling once they arrived home.

Pausing at the door, Nanami reached up to grab the key placed up on the doorframe, again forgetting to bring her set. Riku waited patiently, eyes fixed on the doorknob with no particular interest. Giving the boy one good, stern look, she opened the door and both of them went in.

Heading over to the kitchen sink, she ran her throbbing finger under the tap. "I'm sorry," the prematurely grey six year old said, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, hands behind his back. Her green eyes flickered up and rested on him before softening.

"It's alright," she chirruped, attempting to cheer him up. "Come on now, daddy's going to be home soon. Go wash up for dinner." Turning, she rummaged through the pantry for something edible, because Nanami could not, I repeat, she could not cook to save her life.

Looking at his mother for a moment, he smiled and said, "Alright. Be careful, mom."

For a moment, Nanami paused before smiling to herself. Riku always insisted upon being the adult, and sometimes it wasn't fair for him. She was just a big kid he had to look after. Sighing, she grabbed a loaf of bread and decided that they would have sandwiches for dinner. Yet again.

—

"Where are you, Riku?"

The question wouldn't leave her. Her husband had been so busy with work, so busy he rarely ever noticed the missing presence of their only son. Yet she did, she always did. He was there that night, she had tucked him into bed, despite all the protests, and it was peaceful. Then it wasn't. He disappeared, and all everyone could remember was darkness, endless darkness. When the light was back, she couldn't find her son anywhere. Days of strolling down the beach, alone, and nights of lying awake in bed, wondering.

Nanami had asked everyone, no one knew where Riku had gone. It was as though he never existed on Destiny Islands. He did, though. She never touched his room, which was messy and cluttered with objects. It was the only sign that he had ever existed in their lives.

Was he safe? Was he having enough to eat? Was be being good? All those questions, worries only a mother could have. She wondered, always wondered, but knew better to bother anyone else about her troubles. She had depended on others too much in the past. All she could do now was hope; hope that he could be as adult as he always insisted on being. Only hope.

But she wasn't the only mother with a son lost at sea.

_therefore, by that dear name i have long called you,  
you who are more than mother unto me._

The only thing she could remember was soft smiles and eyes that mimicked that of the skies. She couldn't remember a name nor a face, only blue eyes and gentle smiles, of lullabies once sung and stories she had told. They were the things that she could no longer remember. Or perhaps she did not ever want to remember.

Kairi seemed to remember, the girl that would always keep her company, because she didn't have any children of her own. She was a sweetheart, really, helping around the house, just like the daughter Nozomi never had. She never had children since her husband passed away so early. But there were times when she looked hard enough or listened carefully, she could hear laughter of some sorts, or the ghost of a child racing through the house.

The girl liked to talk about things, the sky, the ocean and the earth, how sometimes the ocean would ripple like a plain of grass, how the sky could be a mirror to that deep sapphire glitter the sea had, and how the earth bloomed with flowers of a million of colors. She talked about fields of deep blue cornflowers, like the seven seas, and light blue harebells, as though they were little pieces of sky.

Just like the eyes she would see in her dreams. They were eyes that reminded her so much of Doumeki, eyes she missed so much.

Blue, blue eyes, a loud laugh that she never minded to hear every morning, and a voice that demanded chocolate chip pancakes ever since the owner knew how to talk. A cheerful voice that wanted stories every night before going to sleep. "Oh! And a lullaby! Don't forget that!" the voice would yell right after the story.

The stories, stories of heroes saving damsels-in-distress, of bad guys always being vanquished by the heroes, stories about fair maidens with flowers woven into their hair and witches casting spells that induced memory loss. She would tell all sorts of stories mostly fairytales, sometimes stories of her younger years.

"The mermaid princess was saved and returned to her castle under the sea, and all was well. Except the prince of the skies, he pined for the princess who lived under the sea, beyond his reach," her voice was soft and airy, like sighs in the wind as she told the tale, eyes gazed up at the sky.

The girl sitting next to her followed Nozomi's gaze up, smiling at the tale being told. "What's next?" No, no, no, that wasn't quite right. The voice that would ask her what was next was loud, anticipating a story he had heard over a million times.

Drawing her feet up, Nozomi rested her chin on her knees, brown hair falling into her face. Brown hair, like, like, someone, someone she knew. "So the prince of the skies decided to meet the mermaid princess. But the mermaid princess had another suitor, the handsome prince that lived on earth. She loved them both, you see."

Eyes, blue as skies, laughter, loud and carefree, a cheerful voice that never hesitated and hair as dark and brown as her own. Who was it? It was someone she knew, she definitely knew him. The ghost of a child that ran through the house with a laugh, the laughter that filled the emptiness that had been there ever since Doumeki died.

Who? Sitting there in the kitchen, she looked out the window and at the sky…

"Mom, I'm home."

She knew those eyes all too well. Her son was finally home.

* * *

**footnotes:** i think people overlook the parents of the kh series more than the disney characters. so there. don't ask where it came from. well, natsuko's was part of an incompletely fic but that's it. and yes, natsuko, nozomi and nanami have reasons behind them. natsuko "summer child", nozomi "hope" and nanami as in "seven seas". what they mean is up to you to figure out. (honestly, it isn't the fact that their names all begin with 'n', that was unintentional.)

nozomi's story is sort-of-kind-of connected to surf, by mahou (wrathofbrett). you know, with doumeki and stoof. now, go read surf. i insist.

original kh cast & disney characters © square enix/disney  
natsuko & nozomi © waraenai and wrathofbrett  
nanami © waraenai  
doumeki © wrathofbrett  
text © waraenai 2008  
quotes © edgar allan poe


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